1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of a terminal having a spring-loaded contact which is integrally press-formed from a conductive material sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional terminal having a spring-loaded contact is press-formed from a conductive material sheet. The conventional terminal is provided with a bottom wall and a contact. The contact is integrally extended from the bottom wall and plastically replicated. The contact is elastically deformable and press-contacts with an opposite terminal when the opposite terminal is inserted into the conventional terminal.
The replicated portion of the terminal may have a history of a severe deformation by press-forming. Use of a core bar for the press-forming is necessary to avoid fracture of the replicated portion. The use of the core bar increases production steps and causes a decreasing of productivity of the terminal. Therefore an art of nonuse of the core bar as well as avoiding fracture of the terminal is desired.
The present invention is intended to solve the above problem and a purpose thereof is provision of a structure of a terminal having a spring-loaded contact which is not easy to be fractured in course of production.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a terminal structure is provided with a bottom wall portion, a replicated portion being extended from the bottom wall portion and folded and an elastic contact portion being extended from the replicated portion. The bottom wall portion, the replicated portion and the elastic contact portion are integrally press-formed from a conductive material sheet having high ductility.
The terminal is made of a highly ductile material so that the replicated portion is not easy to be fractured. Thereby use of the core bar may be omitted and excellent productivity is gained.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a terminal structure is provided with a bottom wall portion, a replicated portion being extended from the bottom wall portion and folded, an elastic contact portion being extended from the replicated portion and a projection abutting the elastic contact portion. The projection is projected from the bottom wall portion. The bottom wall portion, the replicated portion, the elastic contact portion and the projection are integrally press-formed from a conductive material sheet.
The terminal is provided with a projection abutting the elastic contact portion so that the elastic contact portion is prevented from being excessively bent. Thereby use of the core bar may be omitted and excellent productivity is gained.
Preferably, the projection is formed by indenting the bottom wall portion.
More preferably, the elastic contact portion is provided with a front bevel portion extended from the replicated portion, a rear bevel portion extended from the front bevel portion and a sliding elbow portion extended from the rear bevel portion. The sliding elbow portion slidably contacts the bottom wall portion.
Both the front bevel portion and the rear bevel portion press the elastic contact portion to an opposite terminal when the opposite terminal is inserted into the terminal. Thereby contact of the elastic contact portion with the opposite terminal is further assured.